Santander slashes mortgage costs

By Jeff Salway
Published on 22/09/2012 02:44

The UK’s second-biggest lender has slashed costs on a range of its fixed-rate and tracker mortgages.Santander has reduced its two-year fixed-rate mortgage to 2.79 per cent for borrowers with 30 per cent equity or deposits, with a fee of £995.

The bank’s move came a day after the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported a 4 per cent dive in lending last month. It has also cut its 70 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) tracker to 2.79 per cent, with the same fee, while its five-year mortgage for borrowers with equity or deposits of 40 per cent is now the cheapest on the market, at 3.19 per cent.

Santander’s salvo is the latest in a fixed-rate war among the biggest lenders that has targeted borrowers who already have sizeable equity or deposits. The three-year and five-year fixed-rate loans at 85 per cent LTV have both been lowered to 4.79 per cent, with £99 and £995 fees respectively.